Nesquik is a brand of products made by Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestle Quik. This was released in Europe during the 1950s as Nesquik.[2]

Since 1999, the brand has been known as Nesquik worldwide.[2] Today, the Nesquik name appears on a wide range of products, including breakfast cereals,[3] powdered mixes for flavored milk,[4] syrups,[4] ready to drink products,[4] candy bars, chocolate fondue fountains, hot cocoa mix and more.[citation needed]

It began as a chocolate powdered flavoring mix in the United States in 1948, as Nestlé Quik. In the 1950s, it was launched in Europe as Nesquik. In countries with the Quik term (including the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Australia, where it was originally marketed under the name Nestlé's Quik), the name was changed to the worldwide brand Nesquik in 1999. The same year, Cereal Partners introduced Nesquik Cereal, a breakfast cereal that "turns milk into chocolate milk," which is similar to Cocoa Puffs. Nesquik syrup products were introduced in 1981. Ready-to-do products were introduced in 1984.

Nesquik Cereal was first manufactured by Cereal Partners in 1999.[6] The cereal consists of small, about 1 centimetre in diameter spheres of chocolate cereal. Nesquik Cereal is most similar to General Mills' Cocoa Puffs; it is also their most direct competitor. Nesquik Cereal is also made with whole-grains, and is thus a whole-grain cereal.

Nesquik Cereal is sold in dozens of countries worldwide such as the UK, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, France, and Hong Kong. It is sold throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, South America, and parts of North America. It is currently available in 43 countries.[7] It is available in 30 grams, 375 grams, 500 grams, 700 grams package sizes. Most Nesquik Cereal is manufactured in France by Cereal Partners.

It is also available in two other varieties, CioccoMilk (a filled square-shaped chocolate puffed rice-and-corn cereal), and Duo (the original variety, but with white chocolate flavoured rice-and-corn puffs.)

Nesquik has had hundreds of various advertising campaigns over its long history. It has had ads from print ads, to ads at the Tour de France, and Olympics in recent years. It has been advertised with close to one dozen mascots.

In 1955, Nesquik hired ventriloquistJimmy Nelson to do its advertising on children's television programming. Nelson's dummy Danny O'Day would say that Quik "makes milk taste...like a mill-ion" (dollars). Danny and a dog named Farfel would finish the commercials by singing Nestlé's brand-new signature jingle:

Danny: N-E-S-T-L-E-S,

Nestlé's makes the very best...

Farfel: Choc-'late

Farfel would finish with the sound of his jaw snapping shut. This effect was accidentally invented when Nelson's sweaty finger (a result of nervousness) slipped off the mouth control during his first audition in front of the Nestlé executives. This would normally be a serious technical mistake for a ventriloquist, but they actually liked it so much they insisted Nelson keep it in. Nelson performed the jingle that way for ten years.[10]

Nesquik Bunny in an advertisement for Nesquik on a tram in Lisbon, Portugal in 1997

Early bunny mascot appeared on Strawberry Quik cans.

A cartoon Quik Bunny first appeared on the cans of the strawberry flavor when it was introduced. Later, an anthropomorphicanimated bunny wearing a large red "Q" on a collar-like necklace, was introduced in television commercials as the new chocolate Quik mascot. He debuted in 1973. The character is voiced by Barry Gordon.

He sings a new jingle in a rock-and-roll rhythm:

"It's so rich and thick and choco-lik,

That you can't...drink it slow...

if it's Quik!"

Then he vocalizes only four notes "oh-bo-de-oh" and instead of vocalizing the fifth note which is "doh", he immediately sucks all of his drink down through a straw, then finishes the rhyme by forlornly intoning, "That's the saddest sound I know."

In the USA by 2001, the Quik Bunny was renamed the Nesquik Bunny and his "Q" changed to an "N" when the brand name was changed. He appears on the packaging and marketing and has appeared in the product's television commercials. The artist who made the redesign of the Bunny for its global implantation in the nineties, was the cartoonist Ramon Maria Casanyes.[citation needed] In France, Italy and Canada, he is known as Quicky the Nesquik Bunny. In Spain there was no mascot prior to the introduction of Quicky in 1990/1991.

The Nesquik Bunny is also featured on the packaging, and advertisements for other Nesquik products.

France and Greece first had another mascot for Nesquik, which was a giant fat yellow dog cartoonmonster with a deep voice, wearing a hat with red and white stripes, called Groquik—a variation of Gros Quik ("Fat Quik"), created by Gilbert Mast and puppeteered by Yves Brunier. In Greece the mascot was called Κουικάρας (or Quikáras—English: "Big Quik") He was later replaced by Quiky, much to the discontent of fans who protested against the lack of a sympathetic character and the Americanism.

The character was created in 1978. His first appearance was in the French magazine, Téléjunior in April 1979. The designer of the character was Gilbert Mas. In the French advertisements where Groquik was depicted; he was a puppet character portrayed by renowned French puppeteer Yves Brunier, who manufactured and portrayed puppets as a ventriloquist. He has also created famou characters such as Casimir, I'ile aux enfants, and worked on The Muppet Show.[11]

The Greek character's catchphrase was: "I have a craving for Neskouik!" (At the time, this translated into Quik, as the name had not yet been changed) The French characters catchphrase was the same, but in French. These catchphrases were passed on to their successor, the Nesquik Bunny. In the Greek television ads, Kouikaras would chase after thieves who kidnapped children, after trying to steal their Quik; the children refused to give their Quik to the thieves so the thieves stole the children along with the Quik. Kouikaras would catch the thieves, saved the children, and returned the Quik to the children. Over the years, this basic advertising format spawned various variations such as ads where pirates stole Quik, and kidnapped children, and they were saved by Kouikaras; another version followed the basic format but was instead set in space. Many other versions followed this format, and some still follow this format today with the Nesquik Bunny.

The last ad with Kouikaras (which was played in Greece) showed a train at a train station soon to be leaving the station. Kouikaras was at the station, and dozens of children at the station said goodbye to Kouikaras, soon after he boarded the train, and it began to leave the station. As it left the station, and the children waved goodbye, thieves once again stole the Quik, and Quiky the bunny (who had been at the station the entire time) caught the thieves, and returned the Quik back to the children.

In 2001, Nesquik launched a website, which was dedicated to Groquik. The website contained old Nesquik commercials and advertisements, contests, e-cards, logos, and more. Unfortunately, the site no longer works.

Nesquik Cereal is aggressively advertised in the 43 counties in which it is sold. It is mainly advertised on children's television, and heavily marketed towards children. It is mainly marketed via television, though there have been several online and print ads for he product. All ads for the cereal tend to include the Nesquik Bunny.

The attempted ban revolved around a Nesquik chocolate powder TV ad, created by Momentum London, which attracted five complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ad for Nesquik chocolate milkshake stated: "You know, kids only grow up once, which is why they pack their days full of the good stuff. So start theirs with a tasty glass of Nesquik at breakfast. It has essential vitamins and minerals to help them grow and develop, because all this laughing and playing can be hard work." An animation showed the ingredients "Vitamins D, B & C", "Iron" and "Magnesium" adjacent to a glass of the product, mixed with milk. On-screen text during the ad read, "Enjoy Nesquik as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle".

Some angry consumers complained the ad encouraged poor nutritional habits, as the advertisement had suggested that the product was suitable to give for breakfast to children on a daily basis. Five of them reported the advertisement to OFCOM.

Clearcast, the agency that regulates television advertisements, said that it understood that the amount of sugar that is in a single glass of prepared chocolate Nesquik is "well within" the World Health Organisation’s guidelines for daily sugar consumption.

To support its case and defense, Nesquik commented on the ad's reference to iron, magnesium Vitamin B, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D. It said that health claims for these micronutrients, in relation to growth and development and maintenance of bones and teeth, had been positively tested by the authorities. Nestlé also said the benefits of drinking milk were well known and that Nesquik was suitable to be consumed once a day, as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

The ASA has ruled in favour of Nestlé, saying that it noted Nestlé provided nutritional information on its packaging and website. Furthermore, it said it did not consider that the level of sugar in the product was so high as to preclude sensible daily consumption. The ASA has ruled that further action was not necessary.[12]

Southern Baptist minister and comedian Reverend Grady Nutt told a joke in his stand-up act in which a minister, possessing a suitably charismatic voice, could read the ingredients off a box of Nestlé's Quik, putting the proper meaning and interpretation into words like niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, "and people would stand weepin' and volunteerin' for foreign missions!"

In "The Launch Acceleration" episode of the fifth season of TV series "The Big Bang Theory," it was revealed that the Strawberry quik (along with Pepto-Bismol) is the favorite pink fluid of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, in a "hot date" with Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler as the latter attempts to transfer his attachment to several items towards her.

In Disney's 2012 film Wreck It Ralph, the Nesquik chocolate milk mix appears when Fix It Felix and Sergeant Calhoun fall from a double-stripe in Sugar Rush. The sign in the mix said "Nesquik Sand" (a pun on the word "quick sand".)

In the 140th episode of Epic Meal Time, the cast of the Canadian web series created a chocolate-filled breakfast with Nesquik-covered bacon.[13]

Tyler Zetting, the starting goalie for Western Washington University's men's hockey team, said that he made a promise early in their team's season, "I don't know why I said this, but I promised the whole team Nesquik if we won the national championship," he reportedly said. After each win for the team, they would reportedly chant: "One game closer to Nesquik.". After they won National Associated of Intercollegiate Hockey Championships in Buffalo, NY on March 17, Zetting said, "The first thing we chanted after we won, as we were taking our pictures, the whole team started chanting, 'Nesquik,'" Zetting said. "Everyone in that rink was like, 'What are they saying?' And I had to buy everyone Nesquik."[14]

The rap group House of Pain mentions "Strawberry Quik" in the song "Boom shalock lock boom"

On April 1, 2013, the official Facebook page of Nesquik USA posted a photo on their page depicting a broccoli-flavored ready-to-drink flavor of Nesquik. Many believed it to be true, and were shocked. However, if one looked closer at the photo, there was a notice in the lower-left corner that it was not an actual Nestlé product. Nesquik USA announced later in the same day that it was an April Fool's joke.[15][16]

^ ab"About Nesquik- Brand Heritage". Nestlé Middle East FZE. Retrieved 2015-01-17. Developed in the United States of America in 1948, we were originally known as Nestlé Quik [..] In the 1950s the brand was launched in Europe as NESQUIK®. This followed with a worldwide name change for the brand and then from 1999 onwards it became NESQUIK® in all countries.

^"Nesquik Breakfast Cereal". Nestlé. Retrieved 2015-01-17. The only breakfast cereal with the irresistible taste of Nesquik chocolate in every bite. [etc]

1 Currently manufactured by General Mills in the United States. Produced by Cereal Partners under the Nestlé brand elsewhere. 2 Brand owned by General Mills; US and Canadian production rights controlled by Nestlé under license.3 US production rights owned by The Hershey Company. 4 Canadian production rights owned by The Hershey Company. 5 US rights and production owned by Smarties Candy Company, with a different product.6 US rights and specific trade dress owned by Nestlé; rights elsewhere owned by Associated British Foods. 7 Produced by Cereal Partners, branded as Nestlé. 8 Produced by Cereal Partners, and Branded Nestlé in The United Kingdom, and Ireland. Produced by Post Foods, elsewhere.